Patchnotes 07/10/16

[Jaycub]

If you like to play sc and often pug as a mdps you often get killed from rdps while you get no guard and no chance to get near them. Now they can kill you from 50 feet more with more damage. While you got to walk 150 feet hopeing they dont kite, snare or knockdown/back you.

It's been that way since launch of retail servers. MDPS requires guard/healing to function properly, it's extremely powerful in small scale skirmishes in ORvR and 12v12/6v6 scenario type environments... completely overshadowing RDPS even.

However in very large scale fighting and without support from healers/guard it's just dead weight.

Az seems to anyways want to increase ways to siege, biggest problem with MDPS atm imo is the fact that in funnel type environments like at keeps they honestly have no business being there. And if you look at the guilds/players racking up the most kills/RR in a zone it's more often than not your sorc/bw purpose built groups for farming people at range.


Don't play MDPS unless you have the group with the support structure or you are just setting yourself up to fail everytime, make a RDPS alt for when you pug. Magus/Engineer are going to be KING PUG might as well make one.

[roadkillrobin]

@Shaman changes from a healer perspective

*Can no longer use Geddoff! as instant cast

*Gutting groupheals by 50% but boosting casts only by 40% if you have a single mechanic point. Wich means it's even riskier to dps now then it ever was since you can't expand all your points when you need to.

*Changes done to i'll take that and Bleed for me is very nice. Are they gonna be effective as heals tho? Prob not. These are moast likly gonna be used as win more abillties when you charge down people fleeing.

*Overall effect on the class as a healer: More nerf then buff tbh.

[Wittygamertag]

That ranged m1 was just cheese as a squishy bw,
At will they would range root you run in and kd and then dead. No defendable utility and no skill needed to use.

Way to strong for an m1 not to mention it is happening very regularly.

Very rarely have I seen a squishy survive this rotation premade of not which hardly seems fair as you are basically a passenger for 10 seconds.

One bit of advise is that rather than listen to who shout the loudest (obviously Mara players) try to look at it from the person you are using the cheese rotation on and I am sure you will have a far more rational post.
Ironically all of the waaa waaa posts from the maras would be complaints of that very ability if they were playing any other class victimized by it.

If we remove changes because enough people make noise aren't we going to end up with the most popular classes never getting nerfed as they will have the loudest voice.

Stand strong and keep changes good or bad until real data can be obtained

So many toys out of the cot

[Arbich]

I expect an rdps to stay in 100f range to a mara. L2P issue #1
I expect that you watch your opponent, does he have m1 root? Did he use his moral? L2P issue #2
I expect cds being blown to make the rdps survive a 10s root. L2P issue #3

Isn´t not hitting a rooted target also a learn to play issue?

Maybe the changes are too extreme with a m1 single-root now be on par with other aoe-roots (except duration), but before the skill was too strong for a m1.

[DefinitelyNotWingz]

I expect an rdps to stay in 100f range to a mara. L2P issue #1
I expect that you watch your opponent, does he have m1 root? Did he use his moral? L2P issue #2
I expect cds being blown to make the rdps survive a 10s root. L2P issue #3

Isn´t not hitting a rooted target also a learn to play issue?

Maybe the changes are too extreme with a m1 single-root now be on par with other aoe-roots (except duration), but before the skill was too strong for a m1.

It is not a L2P issue if you or your grp have no control over it
Also in #3 you see why a full 10s root is necessary.

[Azarael]

*Gutting groupheals by 50% but boosting casts only by 40% if you have a single mechanic point. Wich means it's even riskier to dps now then it ever was since you can't expand all your points when you need to.

Incorrect. The group heal's effect against yourself, but not against other players is cut by 50%, and 40% of that is to adjust for the cast time bonus so that the HPS from the group heal is close to what it was pre-patch. The mechanic-powered group heal of a DPS AM or Shaman is far superior at accomplishing its purpose than before as the healing against other players is not only using the contribution from a 2.5s cast group heal, but it's also leveled up to 40 and will scale with total item stat bonus.

[Specialpatrol]

I'm amazed at how a patch, that's mostly about significant changes to AM/Shammie mechanics, gets flooded with (mostly) Marauder-tears. That root is very strong - and is more or less an "I win" mechanic, when used by melee trains.

And the change has now also been rolled back, so no need to cry anymore.

Concerning the more significant class changes, I would like to have clarified exactly what these entail:
"+ The effects of an ability on other players will use a bonus stat contribution which is derived from a factor of your total bonus stats from items, if this is higher than the ability's normal scaling stat.
~ Reduced stat contribution works as normal."

- Does this mean that an ability scale off whatever stat you have the highest number in? And no matter if it's a dps or a healing ability?

"+ The effects of an ability on other players will use your Career Rank instead of your Mastery Level."

- What's the reasoning behind this change? Will it not simply make all AMs/Shammies on par, ability-wise, no matter what and how they spec?

And finally, why was stat contribution removed from lifetaps? And will that effectively make them hit and heal like a wet noodle? Wouldn't it correspond to removing str contribution from WP/DoK lifetap, as well as from, say, Choppas and Slayers?

[peterthepan3]

Between 110ft and 150ft have always been a healers safe place but should a range class move in you could always detaunt them, which have a range of 100ft.
Now the engi/magus can reach up to 225ft, it literally changes the whole playfield.

Which is exactly the point:

1) If we are going to (at least, temporarily) go along with the idea that the Magus/Engineer are a static RDPS, i.e. they must stand still with their pets in order to become potent (and their mechanic would suggest this) then they ought to become extremely potent the longer they are allowed to 'set up base' as it were;

2) It takes over 7 seconds of standing still to get to the full amount of stacks. 7 seconds of standing still in a fast-paced PvP game. Yes - you get crazy amounts of range once you have the full amount of stacks, but it is very hard to maintain it as the moment you walk away from your pet you lose your stacks - this links in with the idea that the magus should be at his most potent when he is allowed to cast and stand still;

3) Being able to hit people outside detaunt range is interesting as it allows us to test how viable this method of applying damage is, given that the magus just isn't as good as his fellow rdps at killing people under normal circumstances. It will promote positional play: for example, if a healer sees his health going down rapidly and realises 'oh **** its a magus' (that will be the day, but stay with me) he'll have to run away/towards the magus and detaunt, exposing himself.

4) are people really moaning about a buff to the magus/engineer? xD

While I don't think this change will deal with the fundamental issues that plague these classes, it may serve to alleviate them somewhat while bigger changes are discussed somewhere down the line.

I personally like the idea of the magus/engi having the most range of any class when standing still as it allows flexibility in their playstyle (upclose rift tank or out-in-the-woods sniper). As mentioned above, it's very difficult to maintain these stacks (almost impossible if you're up against a good premade in scenarios) and so people should bear this in mind: standing still for 7 seconds is a pretty big prerequisite imo.

ps: bolt of change has a 150ft range by default, just in case people didn't know

[Azarael]

I'm amazed at how a patch, that's mostly about significant changes to AM/Shammie mechanics, gets flooded with (mostly) Marauder-tears. That root is very strong - and is more or less an "I win" mechanic, when used by melee trains.

And the change has now also been rolled back, so no need to cry anymore.

A topic will be made in the balance forum. I look forward to hearing how those roots were not OP.

Concerning the more significant class changes, I would like to have clarified exactly what these entail:
"+ The effects of an ability on other players will use a bonus stat contribution which is derived from a factor of your total bonus stats from items, if this is higher than the ability's normal scaling stat.
~ Reduced stat contribution works as normal."

- Does this mean that an ability scale off whatever stat you have the highest number in? And no matter if it's a dps or a healing ability?

It scales with a factor of the item stat bonus you have to the 8 core stats if that value is higher than your Intelligence or Willpower bonus and if the spell consumes a mechanic point.

"+ The effects of an ability on other players will use your Career Rank instead of your Mastery Level."

- What's the reasoning behind this change? Will it not simply make all AMs/Shammies on par, ability-wise, no matter what and how they spec?

No. You have a native spec, which is the one that you are proficient in without having to use the mechanic, and which you can ignore the mechanic to play, just as before. Only spells which consume mechanic points become empowered. This is the mechanic's primary reward - allowing you to cast spells of other masteries with power if and only if you are able to expend mechanic points on them, allowing for things like healers dumping burst or alternating damage / heal or lifesteal/heal for higher efficiency compared to casting without points.

And finally, why was stat contribution removed from lifetaps? And will that effectively make them hit and heal like a wet noodle? Wouldn't it correspond to removing str contribution from WP/DoK lifetap, as well as from, say, Choppas and Slayers?

This was done to normalize them. Any mechanic gaining stat contribution is affected by Toughness, and with a 350% modifier to heal, this would result in lifetaps whose value varied too wildly.

The base damage on I'll Take That! and Balance Essence at rank 40 is 299, which we will say is 300, leading to a maximum potential heal of 1050 assuming no damage reduction effects and zero of the relevant resist.

Please bear in mind that the changes listed above, bonuses and reductions, apply only to spells when they consume a mechanic point. I'TT! and Balance Essence, when cast without consuming mechanic points, are the same as they were in Age of Reckoning - static 2s cast with stat contribution pulling 150% of damage dealt as heal.

[Niky]

So few RDPSs on the scenarios. We need more. Great idea to buff rdps classes and nerf root morales.

I hope you change your mind.